Thoughts

It’s an all-new Issue 1, for an all-new X-title. And from the outset you can tell they are trying to downplay things. This is the lowest level Issue 1 of a superhero comic I can imagine.

It starts with the team gathering round to watch someone get a haircut. Before we get re-introduced to the Danger Room. And finally a hint of danger for one of the team as she secretly attempts to cross the Danger Room, and someone seems to be turning the safety protocols off.

The issue does do some low-level threat-building. We learn that Xavier has a son he doesn’t know about. And we learn that elements of the US government are keeping an eye on the Xavier mansion. But neither of these remotely suggest a big blowout is just around the corner.

Fun Panel

The super new holographic Danger Room gets revealed here – in what is probably the biggest conceptual moment of the issue. From now on the Danger Room isn’t some Work Out room dialled up to eleven – its a super sci-fi cliche of a holographic world creator that just might kill you.

Like the Holodec in Star Trek I always find these totally immersive holographic environments slightly dull, story-wise. It’s an easy way to drop in new environments but I miss the travelling to new environments and the “is it potentially going to kill you” schtick gets old pretty fast.

Still, I love the reveal in this fun panel.

None More Claremont

I’ve mentioned how low-level this issue is, but on one level that isn’t really true. This issue drops quite a bomb when it comes to one of the characters. She has a dark past – that involves rape and sexual abuse. Narrated as clearly as could be done under the Comics Code.

This is all stuff that is taken from her debut in Marvel Team-Up Annual 100. An issue where Spider-man and the Fantastic Four discover Karma and learn of her backstory. The darkness of it emphasised by Frank Miller’s inventive visuals.

This is serious ground for comics to tread, especially as it can be brought in as a lazy way to make things seem more grim/gritty and serious. The fact that this side of her story is so heavily emphasised in Issue 1 of a brand new title, in probaby the issues most dramatic moment really sets up the idea that for this comic this story will be incredibly important and its exploration at the heart of the comic.

It’s a shame then, that this really doesn’t become the case. Of all the New Mutants, Karma is really let down by Claremont in terms of character development and story-telling. As I go on reading the run of issues it seems that Claremont is far, far more interested in Magik as a character to explore the themes of post-trauma and abuse survival. And as a result, Mirage pretty much literally disappears. Which is a huge shame

But one we’ll get to as we keep reading…